Automotive heating system



Oct. 4, 1932. A. H. BATES AUTOMOTIVE HEATING SYSTEM Filed June 17, 1929 Patented'Oct. 4, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT H. BATES, F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To BURD HIGH COMPRESSION RING COMPANY, OF nocxronn, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINoIs AUTOMOTIVE HEATING- SYSTEM Application filed June 17, 1929. Serial No. 371,343.

r This invention relates to the art of automotive vehicle heating and has particular 7 reference to improvements in a heater of the g type adapted to have connection in the water eooling'system of the engine so that the hot water constitutes the heating medium for the car heater.

Heaters of the kind referred to have an electric fan disposed behind the radiator core through which the hot water is passed, and ,the air forced through the core by the fan abstracts heat from the water to heat the car. In the past the principal objection that v has beenraised to this type of heater has been that it takes some time after the engine is started before there is any available heat;

in other words, the motorist cannot get heat the moment he steps into his car but has to wait until the water or other cooling medium has been brought up to a'high enough temperature by the operation of the engine.

It is, therefore, one important object of my invention to provide an electric heating element in the lower tank of the radiator core 25 of the heater and arranged to be connected preferably to a light socket in the garage or other place wherethe car may be standing while not in use. In that way, the heater will be in a condition to give off heat without 3 having to Wait for the engine to warm up,

and not only that, but the water heated in the radiator core of the heater will naturally circulate through the engine jacket and thus keep the engine warm enough so that it will start easily, even in extremely cold weather.

Thus, the invention serves a double purpose. Heaters of the kind referred to are, furthermore, usually provided with a valve in the under the hood and incorporate a valve preferably .in one of the tanks of the heater itself where it is easily accessible from the drivers seat and can be opened and closed with utmost ease and facility. This valve can also be used by the motorist to regulate the heat to suit his personal preference, the valve being opened part Way or wide open according to the amount of heat desired. This feature is particularly desirable in moderate weather where it might be uncomfortable with the heater entirely shut ofi but there is no need for the full heat delivery.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein- Figure l is a rather diagrammatic section through the front end of an automobile showing the heating system of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lowor part of the heater taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing how the electric heating element is mounted in the lower tank of the radiator core of the heater; 1 Fig. 3 is another vertical section at right angles to the plane of Fig. 2 taken on the line 3-3 thereof showing the shut-off or regulating valve which is likewise preferably mounted in the lower tank of the heater.

The same reference numerals are applied 7 to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The heater, indicated generally by the reference numeral 5, is similar to that disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 311,- 032, filed October 8, 1928, and comprises a radiator core 6 having upper and lower head er tanks 7 and 8, respectively, communicating with hot water supply and return pipes 9 and 10 extending through and clamped to the dash 11 of the automobile for support of the heater thereby. A fan 12, driven by the electric motor 13, insures a forced draft of air through the radiator 6 from the back thereof to abstract heat from the hot water circulated through the radiator and distribute the heat to all parts of the car. The motor 13 is suitably supported on a bracket 14 and it will be observed that a front plate 15 constitutes a marginal ornamental frame for v the front of the radiator for the sake of appearance. The hot water supply pipe 9 has connection with a pipe or hose 16 tapped into the water jacket of the engine 17 at a point where the water attains the highest tempera-- ture and where it gets hot the quickest after the engine has been started, namely, in the head of the engine. The return pipe 10, on the other hand, has connection with another pipe or hose 18 tapped into the lower outlet hose connection 19 of the car radiator 20 between the latter and its water pump 21. From this much general description it will be evident that hot water, or whatever cooling fluid is used, is supplied to the radiator (i'from the engine 17 through the pipe 9 and that it flows downwardly through the radiator and back to the engine through the return pipe 10.

It is evident from the foregoing that if the fan 12 is turned on soon after the engine 17 has been started, that is, before the water has had a chance to become heated, there will be no appreciable heat delivered from the heater. The motorist cannot expect to get beat until the engine has warmed up. According to my invention this objectiOn to this type 0 heater may be avoided by providing an electric heating element 22, preferably in the lower tank 8 of the radiator 6, having a two-wire conductor 23 extending therefrom to a socket 24, preferably provided on the front of the car, where a plug 25 on an extension cord 26 may be inserted to connect the heating element with a nearby light socket 27, or other suitable source of electric current. A switch 28 may, or may not, be provided in the car to control the circuit for the heating element; it may be found that the average motorist would prefer to have the heating element connected simply by the insertion of the plug 25. If, as is usually the case, the car is backed out of the garage and the plug 25 has not been pulled out before hand no damage will be done because the extension cord is usually strong enough vto serve to pull out the plug. Instead of utilizing the electric light circuit it may be found practical to connect the heating element with the cars storage battery, as represented in dotted lines at 29, in which case the switch 28 would, of course. be essential. In the fastening of the supply and return pipes 9 and 10 to the upper and lower tanks 7 and 8 cast brackets 30 are provided, riveted or otherwise suitably secured in place in the tanks and having the pipestthreading therein, as indicated at 31 in Fig. 3. In the mounting of the heating element 22 in the lower tank 8 I may provide a lateral extension 32 extending to the side wall of the tank and arouter end of a stem 37 of a valve 38.

ranged to have the plug 33 carrying the element 22 threaded therein, as shown.

In operation, the motoristmay connect up the heating element when he parks the car in the garage, or other place, so as to keep the engine warm over night, in case there is any danger of freezing, or he may, for economy sake, have the current turned on for the heating element only for a short time prior to driving the car out of the garage, just enough to heat the waterin the heater to about the right temperature for heating purposes and incidentally heat up the engine enough to make it easy to start. Where it is possible to mount the heater 5 a trifle below the level of the head of the engine 17, as shown, it will be found to be a good practice to do so for the reason that the water heated in the lower tank 8 by the heating element 22 will then circulate more readily through the engine jacket by thermo-siphon action. It is believed to be manifest that the provision of a heating element 22 provided in the manner described positively avoids the objection that was otherwise raised to this type of heater, namely, that the heater would not give instantaneous heat, and not only avoids that objection but enables the warming up of the engine as well. While the heating element 22 will ordinarily be used only when the car is parked somewhere, it is conceivable that in extremely cold weather, when the water in the enginecooling system might not be kept very warm or might take too long to heat up sufiiciently for heating purposes, as on a short trip, it might be found desirable to use the heating element 22 as an auxiliary source of heat, in which event it would, of course, be necessary to utilize the cars battery as the source of electric current. If desired, the switch 28 instead of being used simply for the purpose of connecting the battery or the light socket with the heating element 22 might be in the form of a two-way switch arranged in one circuit making position to connect the battery with the element 22 and in the other circuit mak ing position to connect with the light socket.

Referring now to Fig. 3 it will be observed that I have provided an opening 34 in the front plate 15 for the reception of a knob 35 which is pinned, as shown at 36, onto the The knob 35 is internally threaded and threads on a bushing 39 suitably mounted in the front wall of the tank 8, the mounting including a stuffing box 40 to prevent leakage of water from the tank along the stem 37. The valve 38 is of a conical form and arranged to make wedging engagement with a tapered seat provided in a bushing 41 mount-- ed in the end of the pipe 10. It is believed to be manifest that the unthreading of the knob 35 from the bushing 39 serves to back the valve 38 away from its seat, and vice versa when the knob 35 is turned the other way. The valve 38, it will be observed, has a loose pin connection 42 with the inner end of the stem 37 so that the valve takes its own seat and there is no necessity for the seat to be very accurately located with reference to the bushing 39; the valve can be closed tightly regardless of a slight discrepancy. The specific novel features of the valve per se to which attention has been called, are covered in another application, Serial No. 442,105 filed April 7, 1930.

It is believed to be obvious that when the valve 38 is wide open there is unrestricted circulation of the hot water through the radiator and that when the valve is closed tightly the circulation is positively cut off and the heater will remain cold regardless of the operation of the engine and the heating of the water in the jacket thereof. On the other'hand, the valve 38 may be opened very slightly if it is desired to have just a little circulation of hot water when just a little heat is wanted in the car. The valve can, of course, be opened and closed or regulated without any difficulty because of the convenient location of the knob 35 within reach from the drivers seat. There is no necessity for the motorist getting out of his car to connect or disconnect the heater and he can regulate the operation thereof to suit his personal preference while he is driving.

The invention is covered in the appended claims in such a way as to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations which will no doubt occur to those skilled in this art as the result of this disclosure.

I claim:

1. In an automotive heating system, the combination with an engine in an engine compartment having a liquid circulating cooling system, and a heater in a passenger compartment arranged to have water or other liquid circulated therethrough for heating purposes, said heater having connection with the liquid circulating system of the engine whereby liquid from the cooling system is normally circulated through the heater from the engine when the same is running for heating the passenger compartment, of an independent means for heating the liquid in the heater while the engine is idle primarily for the purpose of heating the passenger compartment by means of the heater but incidentally to heat the engine by a circulation of the heated liquid in the opposite direction from its normal flow from the heater to the engine cooling system.

2. In an automotive heating system, the combination with an engine in an engine com partment having a liquid circulating cooling system, and a heater in a passenger compartment arranged to have water or other liquid circulated therethrough for heating purposes,

said heater having connection with the liq erationand before the engine is started or warmed up, but incidentally to heat the en-- gine for-easy starting thereof by a circulation of the heated liquid-from the heater to the engine cooling system.

3. In an automotive heating system, the

combination with an engine in an engine compartment having a liquid circulating cooling system, and a heater in a passenger compartment arranged to have water or other liquid circulated therethrough for heating purposes, said heater having connection with the liquid circulating system of the engine whereby liquid from the cooling system is normally circulated through the heater from the engine when the same is running for heating the passeger compartment, the said heater having an electric fan arranged when operated to cause air to be heated by the heater and delivered therefrom for circulation in the passenger compartment, of an independent electrical heating means on the heater itself arranged, when the engine is idle, to heat the liquid in the heater so as to enable heat-- ing the passenger compartment immediately when the fan is thrown into operation and be fore the engine is started or warmed up, but incidentally heat the engine too by circulation of the heated liquid from the heater to the engine, said electrical heating means being also adapted to be placed in operation from the same source of electrical energy as the fan when the engine is running to supplement the engines heating of the l quid in the heater in the event such heating 15 insufficient.

l. In an automotive heating system, the combination with an engine in an engine corn partment having a liquid circulating cooling system, and a heater in a passenger compartment arranged to have hot Water or other liquid circulated therethrough for heat ng purposes, said heater having connection w th the liquid circulating system of the engine whereby liquid from the cooling system is normally circulated through the heater from the engine when the same is runnlng whereby to heat the passenger compartment from the liquid circulating cooling system, of an elec trical heating means in the heater itself for heatin the liquid therein ordinarily only when t e engine is idle, for the double purpose of heatlng the passenger compartment by means of the heater and heating the englne by circulation of the heated liquid from the heater to the engine cooling system, there being electrical conductors extending from the electrical heating means for connecting the same either with the battery of the automotive vehicle or an external source of electrical energy, and a two-way switch arranged in one circuit making position to connect the electrical heating means with the battery and in the other circuit making position to connect the same with the external source of electrical energy.

In witness of the foregoing I aflix my signature.

ALBERT H. BATES. 

